pinotlover

So, perhaps “ one size doesn’t fit all”. Even during Happy Hours with the Premium Drinks Package, I always ask before I order. Rather simply actually.

I find some of the Oceania by the glass offerings very acceptable. I wrote a post highlighting some of the better ones, imo, from our June Vista cruise in early July. Some were very nice indeed. Some were Plonk. I attempt to be even handed here. Some report that every meal is exceptional ( even Michelin Class) and every wine tasty. My experience is some meals are excellent, some mediocre, and a few poor. I likewise find some wines “ by the glass “ to be good and others a far lesser quality. You have your opinion, I have mine! 🥂

Sounds more like Viking or AMA. Uniworld typically provides a very nice selection of differing local wines to accompany meals. Unlike the other two ( Viking and AMA) ghastly offerings, on Uniworld we had delightful Romanian wines in Romania, followed by great Bulgarian wines while in Bulgaria, etc . The same can be said if on Rhone or Bordeaux cruises on Uniworld. Think of the delight of having delectable oysters on the half shelf and a beautiful Bdx Blanc sailing upon the Gironde on a beautiful evening. Totally out of the wheelhouse of the guys sitting in Miami. I doubt if Miami buyers even realize the incredible pairing. Besides, the F&B Mgr can’t buy fresh oysters and the on board wine stewards can’t buy local wines. That’s why we escape the ship and have delicious lunches or dinner ashore.

Does Oceania’s motto actually breed mayhem? Your World Your Way. What does that suggest? Pre Covid boarding times were assigned by cabin class. Cruisers ignored them and Boardamania sometimes occurred at heavy turnover ports. The culprits were facilitated regardless of assigned times. YWYW. All ship tours have emblems posted indicating levels of difficulty. Some even say “ no wheelchairs”. I’ve seen passengers show up with wheelchairs and walkers and be allowed on the bus. Oceania is the only line I’ve sailed that allows this, particularly repeatedly. Shorexs get trashed for all others. YWYW. So what should be expected at disembarkation? Do you believe all those instructions will mean anything to passengers? Remember the motto YWYW.

Julia; While I wholeheartedly agree with your suggestion, I’m sure Oceania would remind you of the multitude of passengers with significant short term memory loss. That, of course, is a different discussion.

😂. Check the spelling! I believe he is Pinion as in Opinion! 🥂 The Dark Opinion! 🍷

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I would have gladly voted for Ray Carr, my otherwise favorite CD, to cease the announcements. Let them learn the hard way. FWIW, as I remember, the moron paid a significant fine, spent the night in Jail, had to pay to get to our next port ( Napier I believe) to recatch the ship. Plus rumor was he was banned from re entering NZ again after the cruise. Oblivious or total disregard of the law had a price.

So isn’t that the question? Should Oceania just print the NZ policy in Currents ( many passengers never or rarely read Currents), make one announcement every day, or the constant reminders? Do constant reminders/announcements affect behavior of the Oblivious? Or, why waste your time on them?

Some CDs are more yaky than others. Do the announcements work? Having a large percentage of passengers ignore all announcements doesn’t necessarily mean they aren’t helpful. A simple example. Standing in line to deboard for a tour or catch a tender. How many times should the staff have to announce: “ Please have your room key out, in your hand, to expedite de boarding.” They can say it every thirty seconds and someone will still wait until they get to the stand and start digging in their purse, or start walking against the line because they just discovered at the stand they left it in their cabin. So should the announcement be made once, ten times hoping people will pay attention, or fewer? How many times should a CD have to announce daily in New Zealand not to take any fruits or food items ashore. The Oceania passengers that ignore all announcements will do as they please, the rest of use heard it on Day 1 and understood. Should the CD make that announcement 5 times every day? We had a fellow passenger arrested at the port in Wellington. The dogs were on him immediately. He was carrying fruit ashore! Those continuing announcements went ignored as so many do. I don’t know the answer. I just go with the flow.

Absolutely no “ one size fits all” answer. Some days it’s comfortable in a short sleeve shirt, other days I’m extremely happy that I brought my sports jacket. I always wear my sports jacket to dinner. It’s easy to slip off if the venue is comfortable or warm . My DW always carries a sweater. It’s truly a Forest Gump box of chocolates thing. You’ll never know until you get there. Conditions last night have no bearing on tonight.

We were in Lisbon, on the Sirena, last October starting the second leg of a B2B. A zero count was not required. Some passengers remained on the ship. Oceania ran shore tours. The port ran regular shuttle buses from the ship to downtown for we DIYers. For those that stayed on the ship for the “ special “ lunch in the GDR, it was reported that the menu was identical to the evening menu the night before. So one got an evening meal served at lunch. Some questioned whether it wasn’t just the excess prepared food re warmed. We had a lovely lunch ashore. I believe one had to RSVP for the lunch , on the forms sent around, so they would have a headcount for that special lunch.

1. The issue on the ship is the sole result of rude passengers that ignore their assigned color code for disembarking. Ignore most all instructions given to them by staff and ship officers, and ignore most all logical safety precautions. This starts before they get on the ship, and doesn’t end until they are gone. Any steps Oceania attempted to take would be ignored by the majority of its passengers. As far as the Lounge goes, would you want to be in the center of a row, with all your luggage, with most of the seats taken around you and the pathway jammed with luggage? That would be humorous! FCO is a nightmare. It can be very frustrating even when one arrives by taxi. The drop off and pick up areas are far too small for the amount of traffic. The drop off area may not be near one’s check in counter. Hopefully you get dropped off at the correct terminal! If you read this Forum regularly, you’ll hear a continuous theme. DO NOT schedule that outbound flight until after 12:00. Give yourself plenty of time. Be able to take a deep breath and go with the flow. As in paragraph 1 above, the ignore button by Oceania passengers is huge. Can I make my 10:00 flight, how about a 9:30? 🙄. IMO, if you book one of those flights, you deserve what ever stress comes with it.

😂. I wish people would make up their minds. We have one thread going where people are complaining about NOT wanting to pay for extras. Only pay for what you want! They don’t want all inclusive. Here we have people complaining about things that aren’t included! 🙄 😂

Since the OP has: 1. Disappeared; 2. Started a thread with NO facts; 3. None of us have any clue as to what’s happening! Time to yawn and move on. I personally feel embarrassed that I responded to someone that offered zero information about what actually transpired. 😔

Did you ask to be upgraded when you booked? It doesn’t happen automatically. Did you DIY or use a TA?

I concur with a similar experience on the Nautica. Only thing left unsaid was on a full ship, attendance after 11:00 was maybe 50 people and dwindling. By midnight, maybe 35-40. Those of us left did have a good time.

Two different insurance policies. One individual, another for the cruise line. Corporate policies are typically year to year, and no longer. That new corporate policy may well persuade the cruise line to cancel ports/countries.

Thanks; I remember we didn’t go at the same time as Oceania on that cruise. I was thinking before, guess it was actually after. 🍷

At one time, back in PCH days, both Oceania and Regent utilized the same computer systems. They didn’t want their systems cratered with multiple people hitting the system at the same time. Think speeds during cruises at high volume times. Solution: Space everything out. Regent customers pay more to go first. I doubt much has changed in Miami and the IT systems .

I believe a valuation of $320-$400 on the credit is fairly inline. Enjoy your cruise and consider the total package provided by Oceania along with the total costs. SM is a price increase. IMO, people are getting too hung up on the mechanism of the increase. Just view it as the new cost of cruising O, and decide how that cost of service meets your wants and needs. At this point wasting time on this mechanics of the increase is just wasting time.

As susiean replied above, the cruise lines will only go as far as the insurance companies leash allows.

I put the two areas in different paragraphs. No comparison intended. I will only reply to my friend’s current ( in the past week) experience: their tour operator cancelled all tours to Israel scheduled for next year (2024) and is returning deposits for such.

Last decade, when Turkey started acting badly, it took 3 or 4 years before cruise ships started going back into Istanbul again. I’m guessing it will be at least that long, or longer, before cruising to Israel resumes even if the violence there ends fairly soon. Friends, booked with a church group going there next summer, have already found their tour cancelled. Liability is too great, especially in sue happy America. We may not see a cruise line returning to Russia for a decade. The mutual animosity there will take a long time to heal. Even if needing the tourism, I don’t believe travelers will find the welcome mats out for them. I’m On a personal note, we were fortunate enough to do a wonderful 14 day cruise/tour of China in 2016 with Uniworld, then another visit to Hong Kong to embark the Nautica in 2018. A different era indeed. Even the changes in HK, between 16 and 18, were highly noticeable. With current affairs, I have zero intention of ever returning to any part of China again. I even refrain, as much as possible, from buying anything “ Made in China “. I’d hate to be in one of those ports, or even their waters, when that powder keg goes off.

People need to get over it. SM is a price increase. That’s all it is. Oceania attempts to take part of the sting out by giving everyone the basic drinks package which costs them very little. They take part of the sting out by giving everyone credit on taking hugely overpriced, and often boring, shore excursions. If neither rock your boat then it’s just a needed price increase. That’s it: a price increase. Time will tell how successfully the price increase sticks. They already do almost a continuous slew of differing Sales to fill the ships. Wait, watch, and catch a sale can be a strategy. In the end, there’s going to be a price increase. Customers just have to pay it or move on. I’ll add to this a bit of uncertainty on my part. Perhaps those of us that don’t want to get off the ship and/or go on ship excursions ( I’m definitely in the latter), are no longer the targeted customers. Besides needing a price increase, maybe Oceania has indeed done extensive marketing surveys and that upcoming generation ( under 70) primarily wants a more all inclusive experience. Perhaps those new customers will gladly use the credits and jump on even more ship shorexs. KaChing!! If knitting, darning, and gossiping is your current favorite cruise pastime, you’re now going to pay more to do it on Oceania. That’s it:SM is just a price increase.